Bonnie Allen

Dean of James E. Walker Library, Middle Tennessee State University

Bonnie Allen has had a career full of changes, innovation and engagement a variety of library types and organizations. Bonnie holds a Master of Library Science degree from Indiana University and a Master of Business Administration degree from Portland State University (Oregon). Her work includes marketing library database services at Western Library Network, directing a community college library and serving as the Associate University Librarian at Oregon State University, Corvallis. Throughout her career she has been an active member of state associations and has served as division and committee chairs within the American Library Association. She has been an administrator for private and public university libraries, special libraries, and community college and served as a Commissioner to the Montana State Library while a Dean at The University of Montana.

The most recent change in institutions took Bonnie from the wonderful western wild of Montana to the warmer and more urban setting in the south east. In March, 2012, Bonnie becomes Dean of Walker Library, Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro, TN after serving as Dean of Libraries at the University of Montana, Missoula since 2006. MTSU is 30 miles from Nashville with an enrollment of 27,000 students. The focus of her work at MTSU is fundraising, development of next generation learning commons and collaboration.

Bonnie was attracted to serving on OCLC’s Global Council because of her belief in greater international collaboration and the use of technology to advance the effectiveness of libraries in serving users. In the coming year she is working on ways to improve communication between Global Council and the OCLC membership.